President Lula da Silva told reporters on 30 October that the government will continue to follow “responsible fiscal policy” in the next four years. Lula's comments to journalists were aimed at soothing the financial markets. The US dollar rose 0.6% against the Real and the São Paulo Stock Exchange fell 1.09% following a statement from the political coordination minister, Tarso Genro. According to Genro, Lula's re-election marked the “end of the Palocci era”. He was referring to the economic policies pursued by the former finance minister, Antonio Palocci, which brought economic stability through a tough policy of inflation control and by holding back government expenditure.